


Honey, I Shrunk Our Friends!

by saintamaris



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Inspired by Honey I Shrunk the Kids, bending still exists because hell yeah, frenemies to lovers, sokka is a dumbass genius, surprise parties cause chaos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:01:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27538015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintamaris/pseuds/saintamaris
Summary: Sokka is well on his way to becoming one of the most renown engineers of his time. His youthful brilliance is praised and applauded by observers. However, they don’t know what goes on behind the scenes.Or, the time when one of Sokka’s gadgets backfires and his sister and best friend have to pay the price.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), background Aang/Toph, background Sokka/Suki
Comments: 10
Kudos: 30





	1. Surprise!

Katara had planned everything accordingly. And it hadn’t been easy.

The reason being that Sokka was insistent on his dedication to not leave his house. So yes it had been hard and she is incredibly proud of herself and her friends for having pulled this off. He turned 21 today, and well he was only going to turn 21 once and she was going to make sure that it was the best damn birthday party he ever had.

She would have planned his party at the 18 and up bar here in Ba Sing Se but with his recent behavior, she had sincerely doubted that anyone would be able to get him out of his house to the desired location without him managing to give them the slip. He had taken to doing online grocery shopping to avoid leaving the comforts of his personally constructed ‘inventions room.’

When their parents had taken them to their family dinner of the month a few days prior he had scarfed down his food quicker than normal and was ready to go within 30 minutes. He hadn’t even wanted dessert! 

When she had asked him why he was being such a homebody he said, “I can’t let the air contaminate my genius Katara.”

For the past year, he had said he was working on something big and she didn’t doubt it. He was at the top of his class at Ba Sing Se University and with his senior project due within the span of two months the pressure was on. He refused to tell any of them what his idea was about and was currently keeping them in suspense. 

“You all will have to find out when the rest of the world finds out. Don’t be so obsessed with me, I need to maintain a good public image. I can’t just go around blurting out all my ideas because, some of you,” he had looked pointedly at Aang who looked sheepish at the attention, “are incredibly talkative and make friends so quickly you’ll end up sharing the seal jerky -  _ my  _ seal jerky.”

He was so full of himself, and rightfully so. She was incredibly proud of him and the path that he was paving for himself. He was working hard to ensure that he was qualified to take his position within the family business. He had been adamant when telling their parents that he wanted to earn his spot in the company because he was capable not out of nepotism.

She had to pray to Tui and La for her plans to work out and had actually sighed in relief when Aang had shot her a text earlier today saying that he and Toph would keep Sokka out of the house for as long as they could.

The party wasn’t set to begin for another hour and a half and she and Suki were moving as quickly as possible to finish setting up the decorations while waiting for the food and cake to be delivered. 

Katara felt calm and collected as she was setting up the table for Sokka’s birthday presents. She had pulled a few strings and had gotten him a free lifetime membership for this online website that promotes a different food from across the four nations each month. He had been raving about wanting to get a membership but kept on forgetting to set himself up for it.

It had only taken a date with a particularly shy earthbender whose father was one of the co-founders of the site. He had been nice but they decided it would be best if they remained friends.

She would have asked Suki what she got him but thought it would be best not to. Knowing those two, actually, nevermind, she didn’t even want to think about it.

She let out a hiss as she felt her foot bump into something, looking down to see what it was. Kneeling to pick it up she read the front page of the workbook that could belong to no one other than her annoying older brother.

‘Property of Sokka Kuruk, if you are reading this and you are not me you shouldn’t be. The only two people who are allowed to read this are Katara and Suki who will most likely find this if it is lost. If you are not either of those people why are you still reading this? If found please return to the laboratory of awesomeness.’

Looking at the bottom of the page Katara wondered what that stain could be because it certainly wasn’t chocolate.

Before she could return her brother's workbook to where it belonged she heard the ping of her phone with the simultaneous ding of the doorbell.

“I’ll get the door, it’s probably the food.”

As Suki made her way to grab the takeout that had been ordered along with the specially ordered cake, Katara took out her phone and was bombarded with several texts from Aang.

A: ‘Sokka thinks we’re up to something.’

A: ‘HOLY FUCK!’

A: ‘Sokka is missing!’

A: ‘I repeat Sokka is missing!’

A: ‘I think he’s headed back to his place.’

A: ‘ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION!’

A: ‘Seriously, how the fuck can your brother just disappear without a trace? - Toph’

Katara sent back a swift text assuring both of them that it was alright. She and Suki had already finished setting everything up and let them know that it was okay to head back to the house.

“Suki, we’ve got incoming. Sokka managed to escape from the minions’ watch and they think he’s headed back here.”

“Wow, I’m surprised they lasted that long. I was sure that he would have managed to get away from them much sooner.”

They both let out a snort and went to organize the food on the table in the living room. They would most likely be enjoying a film - of Sokka’s choice - while eating their food. She made sure to set Toph’s food on the left side of the table, which happens to be her official unofficial spot when visiting Sokka and Zuko’s house.

_ Zuko. _

Even thinking about his name caused her body to shudder and rattled her nerves. She had been grateful that he minded his own business and agreed to stay up in his room before the celebration. She did not need him screwing things up for her and making her embarrass herself. Katara did what she could to fight the blush that was no doubt crawling onto her cheeks. 

She couldn’t explain why, but for some reason, since they both hit puberty, there was always this tension between her and the firebender. Their families had been long-time friends for years and as children, they had grown up together. Sokka and Zuko had been close as they were both older brothers to two capable prodigious sisters. And while Azula had gotten a few laughs at nearly setting Sokka on fire a handful of times and that one time she had watched him almost drown in the turtleduck pond because he wanted to prove he could hold his breath underwater longer than she could, Katara and Zuko had been thick as thieves. 

Zuko, the boy who she used to confide in and with whom she always shared her secrets, had grown to become one of the most attractive men she had ever had the pleasure of setting her eyes on. Zuko, who had been her best friend for years, is a complete stranger to her now as they drifted apart. She had not been surprised when Sokka called to tell her that he and Zuko decided to get a place together off-campus. Considering Sokka's previous roommate and the stories she was regaled with, she wouldn't deny that Zuko was a better alternative.

However, when she had come to visit him the spring break before she graduated from high school, he had withheld the details of Zuko’s whereabouts and left her at his new residence while he went on a date with Suki. To be fair he had invited her to come with them but she did not want to be a third wheel nor did she want to have to be in the same vicinity as Sokka and Suki when they were on a date. She had been in practically nothing while unpacking some of the belongings he still had in boxes and wandering around his new home before bumping into Zuko. Who at the time had only been in a towel with water droplets still clinging to his skin from having just gotten out of the shower. 

If things had been awkward and tense before then it was even worse after the  _ Incident _ as she had dubbed it in her journal. From that day on, she couldn’t stand being in his presence alone. He made her feel unnerved in a way that she couldn’t describe. She would have to learn how to deal with it better before both of their families had their annual Winter Solstice celebration together and suspected something.

She can already imagine the scheming not only her mother and Auntie Ursa would get up to, but also the pure dramatics of Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten. 

Focusing on the task at hand she looked around to make sure that everything was in its place. She had almost forgotten to put Sokka’s workbook away. 

_ Almost. _

Katara had no choice but to curse her penchant for detail and organization. Maybe if she had just decided to not pick up Sokka’s things for once in her life she wouldn’t be in the predicament she was in now.  _ But no. _ She just had to go and be extra.

She can’t really remember what had happened entirely that resulted in her -  _ them _ \- being in this predicament. Only flashes. A pull, a tug, a gasp, an attempt at rescue, and then blackout.

There are two main questions that are running through her head and until she is out of this situation she will continue to repeat them over and over again.

The first question of utmost importance is the big question of who she’s going to kill first: Zuko or Sokka?

The second question is: has everything else gotten bigger, or did they get smaller?

Yeah, she thinks she’s going to kill Sokka first. Zuko is probably going to take a nap.

* * *

Sokka had managed to escape from the powers that were Toph and Aang. He had booked it the first chance he got and was currently running towards his house. It turns out that leaving his house for a few hours had been helpful. Being dragged from one place to another had set his neurons alight with brainstorming solutions for his problems concerning his senior project. Solutions that he had been unable to figure out staring at the decorated walls of his lab. There are a couple of kinks that he still needs to work out and he feels anxious to get back to the idea that would either make or break his career.

As he rounded the corner and made a beeline for his house he decided it would be best to not go through the front door. His friends had been acting suspicious all day but he wasn’t going to ruin whatever they had up their sleeves. The days had been blurring together and truthfully he didn’t know what day it was. There's something in the back of his mind telling him that he is forgetting something. But he has no time to think about such things because he's running out of time to get his project corrected.

Scaling the steps on the side of the house - put there by one temperamental earthbender who enjoys breaking into his home at all hours of the night - he sneaks into the adjacent window that remains unlocked. Mostly because the lock was broken and he didn’t have the energy to fix it himself, knowing that Toph would just end up breaking it again when she decided to pay him or Zuko a visit.

He hears music playing and pays no mind to it. Thinking that maybe Zuko decided to occupy a space that wasn’t his room for the first time in weeks.

He had been right there.

Right there when it happened.

When everything fell apart.

Now maybe he could have avoided this entire situation if he had put caution signs all over his lab, but Zuko has always respected his space, so he had thought nothing of it. He knows better now. He would have questioned why Katara had been here in the first place but he had watched as his workbook fell from her hands as surprise morphed her features. He could already see the headlines.

_ “Up and coming engineer of promise, heir of Kuruk industries Sokka Kuruk accidentally shrinks his sister, heiress Katara Kuruk, and his best friend, Zuko Sozin heir of the Southern Branch of Sozin Hotels.” _

Sokka wouldn’t have been worried if he hadn’t watched his workbook shrink right along with his sister and best friend. Taking his equations to figure out this issue away. He also wouldn’t have been worried if he hadn’t watched his gadget fall apart. Also, the smoke coming out of it was  _ not _ a good sign. Oh, and he also wouldn’t have been worried about Katara and Zuko if he hadn't picked up on the fact that they didn't get along for reasons completely unknown to him.

_ “Oh, shit. Katara is so going to kill me when she gets back to normal.” _ He begins pulling at his hair and pacing.

This was not good. At all.

He hears the thumping sounds of multiple pairs of feet running up the stairs towards him.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOKKA!”

He turns to see Suki, Aang, and Toph standing at the opening of the door. Meeting their eyes frantically he shakes his head while tapping his foot. Suki is about to take a step forward before he reminds himself that Katara and Zuko are tiny now.

As tiny as ants. Meaning that there is a high probability that any steps that the normal-sized people in this house take could mean smushing their two friends.

He throws his hands up in a gesture to stop her. Looking directly at Suki with crazed eyes he says, “HONEY, I SHRUNK OUR FRIENDS!”

And Toph has the nerve, the audacity, to do jazz hands.

This is the worst birthday ever.


	2. Phone-A-Friend

Zuko had been having a good day. He had finished the last of his assignments a full two days before they were due. Had gotten a good night's rest and was ready to celebrate Sokka’s birthday with his friends and  _ her.  _ He had gotten him the newest gaming console along with a new headset because Toph broke the last one after yelling at the other player who had been cyberbullying Sokka. Who no doubt was probably a 13-year-old kid.

He had just begun getting ready for the party when he heard the doorbell ring. Going to spray some of his cologne onto his collarbone only to be met with air. Sighing to himself, he had opened his door just a sliver of the way to look into the hallway making sure that no one would see him run to the bathroom. Sokka claimed that Zuko was addicted to his cologne collection, which he refutes by reminding his childhood friend that there is no crime in wanting to always smell good. He keeps his extra cologne (bottles that do not fit in the cabinet of his on-suite bathroom) in the cabinet in the bathroom for guests. 

Maybe if he hadn’t spent those 2 additional minutes looking at himself in the mirror hyping himself up he wouldn’t be in this situation.  _ But no.  _ He just had to go and run through a pretend conversation with the girl of his dreams - who didn’t know she was the girl of his dreams - who had also been his closest friend and confidant until his hormones came into play and he realized that she was very  _ very  _ pretty.

He had been walking back to his room when he watched Katara open the door to Sokka’s lab. The room that no one aside from Sokka was allowed to enter the past few months. So stupidly he followed her. At first, he had just stayed in the doorway and just watched her pick her way through the room in an attempt to return something to its proper place.

She looked good and it was psyching him out of what he wanted to say to her.

He should have kept his mouth shut for the time being. Truthfully, this situation may be his fault. If he hadn’t started her she wouldn’t have tripped. Then he wouldn’t have had to try - and fail - to save her from falling. But it hadn’t been his intention for them to end up where they were now.

She was currently screaming expletives that were falling on no one’s ears but his, and he was kind of blocking her out. His body hurt as if Toph just crushed him under one of her personally constructed arenas. He hears Katara begin to pace back and forth stopping once in a while to tap her foot. She is standing on top of the very workbook that got them into this mess. He plops down onto the floor to avoid having to look straight at her. Also, he kind of regrets not using the bathroom pre-shrinking and is trying to focus on not peeing his pants.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Katara whip something out of her pocket and bring it to her lips. He is full-on looking at her now as she applies gloss to her lips and wonders if it tastes like anything. Fighting the redness that no doubt wants to climb to the apples of his cheek he once again diverts his gaze elsewhere. He misses the part where she unlocks her phone and calls her brother.

“SOKKA YOU COLOSSAL DUMBASS! WHY AM I TINY?!”

“Wow, Katara I’m surprised I can hear you first off. I would have thought that you being small would mean I wouldn’t be able to, or maybe it's because you’re facetiming at me and speaking into your speaker.”

“SOKKA NOW IS NOT THE TIME!”

“Even small you’ve got a temper. Yikes. I wonder what I can do to make it smaller too.”

He isn’t looking at her but he knows the glare she is sending to her brother through the screen of her phone. The glare must have worked because Sokka is now fumbling over his words in an attempt to explain what happened and muffles the last bit.

“Mind repeating that for me?”

His ears are once again met with mumbling and he risks getting up to stand next to Katara to see if it's just the distance that is causing him to mishear.

“Sokka, so help me, if you don’t speak clearly I will strangle you.”

“Kind of hard for you to strangle me when you’re so tiny.” Sokka jokes and sticks his tongue out.

As Zuko looks over Katara’s shoulder at her phone screen he sees the mischievous smile on Toph’s face as she holds back her laughter.

“Sokka, man, can you just tell us how we can get back to normal. I kind of have to go to the bathroom.”

“Zuko! Buddy! I am so sorry that this happened to you. Now you’re stuck with Katara.”

Katara’s eyes burn holes into the side of his head and he keeps his eyes forward on Sokka so that he doesn’t have to see the raw intensity behind true blue eyes. He crosses his arms across his bare chest because he had forgone one before he went to the bathroom.

“Look, I’m going, to be honest. I don’t know how to fix this just yet, especially with my workbook being tiny like you guys. First things first, we need to get you both somewhere where we can’t step on you.”

“They're about two feet away from your left foot, Snoozles.”

“Okay, Zuko and Katara I’m going to crouch down and put my hand on the floor. Then you guys can crawl into my hand and get you higher up.”

Not hanging up the phone Sokka does as he just told them and nearly flattens them with the back of his hand. Without thinking, Zuko quickly grabs Katara and moves her a few steps to the side away from the edge of Sokka’s thumb. She slaps at the arm that is encircling her waist and hangs up on Sokka as she picks up the workbook, clutching it to her chest, and jumps onto her brother’s fingernail. 

He blows hot air out of his nose and follows her. When they are both finally situated within the palm of Sokka’s hand they are brought up to an eyeball. Katara has once again begun tapping her foot and has a hand on her hip. Her brother offers them a sheepish smile and goes to clear a portion of his cluttered desk.

Zuko’s stomach decides now is the time to begin rumbling.

He had been having a good day. But now he is only a few centimeters tall, stuck with a girl that no longer likes him, all the while he has to go to the bathroom and is hungry.

* * *

Katara doesn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. She started off the day trying to be a nice little sister and this is the thanks she gets. She rubs her temples in an effort to soothe the ache that has now begun to form.

Suki, Toph, and Aang had decided it would be best to occupy the space downstairs to give Sokka an opportunity to get a head start in fixing the problem at hand. She has been staring at her brother’s big head for what felt like the past hour and a half but had only been thirty minutes.

In said thirty minutes she saw him tap a pencil to the top of his head while staring at a blank sheet of paper. Then he had sprung up and made his way to a whiteboard with equations that made absolutely no sense and walked back and forth scanning them over and over again. Once that hadn’t worked out for him he sat back down in his rolly chair with his hands over his eyes.

She had almost thought he had fallen asleep. Then he started spinning in his chair. He was currently making her dizzy and if she hadn’t wanted to slap him before she definitely wanted to now, as black spots began to coat her vision. She has absolutely had enough and decides to lay down and cover her eyes with her forearm. She counts her breaths to keep from panicking and from focusing on the pangs of hunger.

She had been really looking forward to dinner today. Her noodles were downstairs getting cold in their container now that she couldn’t eat them. In this form, she probably wouldn’t even be able to eat much of her food.

She had relaxed so much that she hadn’t even realized that she had put herself to sleep. Though the exhaustion of everything that has happened would no doubt have taken its toll on her. As well as the several all-nighters that she has pulled within the past two weeks as she worked her way through assignment after assignment. Her clothes are uncomfortable but they will have to do because it isn’t like there are other clothes that are readily available for her to put on.

She couldn’t have been asleep for more than an hour or two before her body started feeling fuzzy. Not fuzzy in the way she feels after having one too many drinks but the same type of uncomfortable pinches she feels when her foot falls asleep. She feels her face pull into a grimace and even that is slightly painful. The groan makes its way out of her throat on its own and she feels the press of something else on the right side of her body.

As she slowly opens her eyes and is met with the warm light of the lamp in Sokka’s lab she turns her head to see Zuko by her side. But something is off about the situation.

She could have sworn that he was smaller earlier, so why did he look much bigger now? She looks down at her own body and tries to push her way into a sitting position. It takes a few tries and the back of her head is cursing her after she hit it on the back of Sokka’s desk.

She had curled herself into a ball while she slept and now that she had straightened herself out there was something she couldn’t put her finger on. She looked around the room to see if anything else had changed and she quickly noticed the absence of her brother. Narrowing her eyes she sees that the door is open and the hallway light is on. She continues to sit in silence and is only really waiting for another minute or two before she spots her brother with a container of food in his hands.

He is standing in the doorway of his lab when he finally looks up instead of down at the noodles (that look distinctly like the ones she had bought for herself) and screams. The scream alerts Zuko because he is now sitting up beside her and punching small fists of fire out in front of him. He is slow to open his eyes but when he does he closes them again as the light hurts his eyes due to how fast he had opened them.

Sokka is on them in a flash, poking and prodding at their bodies. Katara grants herself permission to look at Zuko in a sort of silent communication. He looks confused at the expression on her face. She ignores the twinge in her chest that reminds her that they are not friends like they used to be. Merely close acquaintances through their families. 

“What’s the issue now?”

Sokka ignores her.

“Sokka are you even listening to me?”

He ignores her again.

She jumps down from his desk and onto her wobbly legs. As if she’s just learning to walk again. She looks down at her body and nearly collapses on the floor. She is taller than she was earlier as if her power nap restored some of her height to her but now she stands only two feet off the ground. Her phone, nearly dead after a day of not being charged, is now its familiar size in her back pocket. Sokka’s workbook has also returned to its original size and she hopes this means he can fix her -  _ them  _ \- now that he has all of his equations.

“Does this mean you can fix us now?”

Sokka once again ignores her and instead takes out his own phone.

“Say cheese.” She sticks up her middle finger at him and he looks scandalized. 

With his phone in his hand, he closes his eyes and mutters something once again. She doesn’t bother asking him anything else as it has proven to get her nowhere. He runs his fingers across the screen of his phone and puts it to his ear.

She can feel the heat of Zuko behind her as he hadn’t yet jumped off the desk as she had. She decides that if Sokka is going to be rude to her she could play that game too. So she walks behind his desk and has to stand on her tip-toes to climb up onto his desk chair. Her noodles are right in front of her face and she decides that she deserves something nice for her unappreciated efforts today. 

As she stuffs noodles into her mouth she leaves a little bit for Zuko. She had heard his stomach rumble earlier and while it may not be his favorite cuisine he didn’t mind noodles. At least he hadn’t before. She looks to her older brother who still has his phone pressed to his ear and she hears ringing as he waits for whoever he has called to pick up the phone.

She takes out her phone and presses the home button to be alerted that it is past one in the morning and her brother is currently calling someone who is most likely sleeping. She rests her forehead on the edge of the desk and begins to close her eyes again when Sokka opens his mouth.

“Hey Azula, are you in town? I need a favor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayo, it's ya girl saintamaris. I finally felt inspired to write. I already have a general outline for this story and hope to get updates out sooner than later now that school is over for me. Thanks so much for reading! Leave a comment or a kudos if you'd like.

**Author's Note:**

> Me to me: amaris don't do it. Don't write another fic while you're already writing one.  
> Also me: bitch I do what I want.
> 
> LMFAO, I am so sorry y'all but this idea came to me while studying for biology [because finals!] and now I can't get it out of my head. I hope this fic is at least entertaining. To those who read this chapter when I first posted it, there have been some changes made to it.
> 
> xoxo saintamaris


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